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In 2025, Universal Music Japan‘s president and CEO, Naoshi Fujikura, was chosen for inclusion in Billboard‘s Global Power Players list for a fifth consecutive time, making this his sixth appearance. In this year’s interview, he talked about the potential that Universal Music companies in other countries see in the Japanese market, the challenges Japan faces, and hits from artists such as Mrs. GREEN APPLE and Fujii Kaze.
According to IFPI, master recording revenue rose worldwide in 2024 for the 10th consecutive year, but in Japan it fell from last year’s level. This was due to declines in CD album and music video sales that weren’t made up for by digital sales. How do you feel about this?
To start off with, the fact that the global music market has grown for ten consecutive years is not something to be taken for granted. It’s a wonderful achievement. In 2025, the amount of growth in some of the more developed markets was slower, but the number of subscribers in China grew materially. I think it’s wonderful that we’re seeing continuous worldwide growth, even if the rate of growth varies by country.
People have pointed out that Japan has been slow to adopt streaming, but attending global conferences, what I’ve seen is that people aren’t looking at the Japanese market as some sort of anomalous far-Eastern market, but instead they’ve started talking about it as a business model that offers valuable insights for the rest of the world. In many countries, streaming is the main revenue source, and companies are competing for market share, but in Japan, physical accounts for 60% of revenue. Streaming co-exists alongside this. So the situation isn’t gloomy, we have also been cultivating a superfan culture for many years. Looking at our artist roster, Mrs. GREEN APPLE is the first artist in Japan whose songs have broken a total of 10 billion streams, but their best hits album, 10, sold over 770,000 copies in its first week. timelesz, who gained a massive buzz from their auditions program ‘timlesz AUDITION PROJECT’ on Netflix and sold roughly 650,000 copies of their album FAM in its first week. I don’t think you can make the sweeping generalization that Japan has been slow in shifting to digital media.
Another of the pressing issues facing Japan is strengthening its exports. According to the “Export Power” ranking announced by Luminate, in 2024 the No. 1 country was the U.S., followed by the U.K. at No. 2, Canada at No. 3, and South Korea at No. 4. Japan was ranked in 14th place. What difficulties do you think Japan faces with respect to exports?
I think there has traditionally been a lack of resources and experience in marketing to overseas audiences. There aren’t enough people who can share great artists or pieces of music in an appealing way, using language that resonates with the local markets. We have few experiences of success in creating overseas hits, and I think we need to be more ambitious. But what’s really important is to present songs and artists with universal appeal that transcends language barriers. I think if we do that, it will fling open the door for us. We believe it is only a matter of time though for more Japanese artists to break through globally, and at UMJ we are already turning this into reality with artists like Fujii Kaze, Ado and others.
Ado appeared in a Billboard US’ podcast, and has also been covered in several articles, right?
In 2025, Ado went on a tour of 33 countries, bringing a total of over 500,000 people to her shows. Her merchandise is also extremely popular, so her influence on the industry is incalculable. Thanks to the movie ONE PIECE FILM RED, she crossed the language barrier to be an artist that people around the world wanted to hear in person at least once. At her overseas shows, almost all of the audiences were made up of local fans. That impressed on me the fact that global success could be seen not only in winning awards or taking top positions in the charts, but also through this kind of success.
Right, it can be another kind of record for artists to aim for. On the topic of awards, they’ve announced that the MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN will be held again in 2026.
We’ve worked with Japanese artists, like Joe Hisaishi, Tomoyasu Hotei, Perfume, and MIYAVI, on their overseas activities. I’m glad to see how the Japanese music industry is coming together now, across company and organization lines, to hold these awards, even receiving government support. The other day, in New York, I met with the representatives of Universal Music Group in different countries, and one of our colleagues from Germany was surprised that this idea became a reality.
When the winner of the Artist of the Year award was announced, you could be seen cheering behind Mrs. GREEN APPLE.
I’d actually been watching from the balcony at first. But as the announcement of different winners went on, Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s name wasn’t coming up, so I started to get worried. So when there was a break, I knew I just couldn’t stay up there in the balcony, and I moved near the band. When they announced that Mrs. GREEN APPLE won, I was so surprised and overjoyed that I sprang out of my seat. It was apparently caught on camera. The results are determined by voting, so I couldn’t even guess who might win until right before the results were announced. All that worry just made my happiness all the greater.
The smile on your face, and the look of relief on the faces of everyone in the band, was really striking. This year Mrs. GREEN APPLE and Fujii Kaze are making big stirs in the charts. In addition to putting out new releases for five straight months, Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s been getting a lot of mass media exposure through an NHK TV series and through movies. Fujii Kaze released a hit album that’s entirely in English. These two artists are using totally different approaches, but they’ve both created hits. What are your feelings on that?
Fujikura: There’s something that Motoki Ohmori and Fujii Kaze both have in common, which is that they both want to sing where they’re needed. That’s what motivates them. I’m always telling employees to maximize the value of artists.
As a result of that, for Fujii Kaze, instead of us in Japan approaching overseas labels, we had multiple labels approaching Fujii Kaze and asking to work with him, which led to an agreement being signed.
In September, Fujii Kaze’s Prema, which is all in English, became a hit with sales of around 200,000 copies. His songs are also all getting heavy streaming plays. It’s been a wonderful success. One of the issues in Japan is a decline in the number of people who listen to international music. I think it’s really significant how he’s opened up a new market, and I’m looking forward to seeing where he goes in the future.
Fujii Kaze has a lot of fans outside Japan, in Southeast Asia. Was a lot of attention paid to these overseas markets when promoting the new album?
When “Hachikō” was released on streaming, we held an event, but we held it in Thailand, not Japan. That led to it being shared not only in Thailand but around the world. In the past, not being in Japan on the day of a song’s release would have been unthinkable. But with this many fans now accessible around the world, where you need to be and what you need to do to generate excitement has changed.
We’re already in the second half of the year. What do you think it will be like?
I may be repeating myself from previous years, but without good artists, you can’t generate excitement, and you can’t create hit songs. So it’s important not to just get caught up in techniques and monetization. At the heart of it all, you have to have great artists and great music. I want to keep maintaining that philosophy moving forward, as well.
—This interview by Seiji Isozaki and Naoko Takashima first appeared on Billboard Japan
Trending on Billboard Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” has officially made its way back into the top 10 of the Hot 100, while “Folded,” “Mutt” and more slip a spot. Can the queen of the holiday season take No. 1 this week? Tetris Kelly: It’s time! This is the Billboard Hot […]
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Japanese heavy metal band Babymetal made history at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on Nov. 1, performing its largest North American show to date in the group’s only arena concert of 2025. Such large-scale shows are common in the band’s home country, but American audiences were treated to a special in-the-round stage and pyrotechnics-filled production in support of the band’s fourth album, Metal Forth (released in the U.S. through Virgin Music Group).
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The setup was as impressive as the milestone itself. The fire-spewing square stage was rotated 45 degrees, creating a diamond with edges that nearly touched the arena’s four sides. That put the band — Su-metal, Moametal and Momometal, plus two guitarist, a bass player and drummer — in close proximity to its adoring fans. “We set up the stage right in the center of the venue so that the audience could see the performance from 360 degrees,” Su-metal tells Billboard’s Behind the Setlist podcast. “It turned out exactly the kind of show we’ve always wanted people outside Japan to see.”
The 15-song set spanned Babymetal’s catalog, opening with “BABYMETAL DEATH” and touching on “from me to u” and “Distortion” before “PA PA YA!!” sent the crowd into pandemonium. Intuit Dome’s halo-shaped video screen that hovers over the floor added to the sensory overload by showing images and video of studio collaborators such as Indian rapper Bloodywood, who came to life during a memorable performance of “Kon! Kon!” from Metal Forth.
A surprise came about two-thirds into the set when Babymetal was joined on stage by Spiritbox’s Courtney LaPlante, who recreated the ferocious singing on “My Queen” that makes the collaboration a highlight from Metal Forth. The song is typical of the Babymetal’s intention to go “beyond metal,” as the band has said in previous interviews, by mixing genres and filling Metal Forth with collaborations with Bloodywood, Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, Electric Callboy, Spiritbox, Poppy and Slaughter to Prevail. “Our foundation is metal, of course, but we want to combine even more diverse musical styles to forge a new path only we can create,” explains Momometal.
The three-song encore featured “The One,” “Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!” and “Road of Resistance.” The uplifting “The One,” from the 2016 album Metal Resistance, prompted fans in a mosh pit to lock arms, create a huge circle and sway from side to side. The song stands out in Moametal’s memory of the concert. “During ‘The One,’ cheers from the audience were so loud it felt like the ground was shaking,” she says. “My heart just exploded with joy.”
Listen to Behind the Setlist’s entire interview with Su-metal, Moametal and Momometal using the embedded Spotify player below, or go to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeart, Podbean or Everand.
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“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than supporting the work of the ACLU,” Maggie Rogers told the crowd ahead of her set at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)’s Creatives for Freedom benefit concert on Saturday night (Nov. 22).
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Held at Pioneer Works in New York’s Red Hook neighborhood in Brooklyn, the event brought together a stacked lineup featuring headliner Sheryl Crow alongside St. Vincent, Mark Ronson, Joy Oladokun, Taylor Meier of CAAMP, Mon Rovîa and more. It marked the ACLU’s first benefit concert of its kind, supporting the organization’s work to protect civil rights and civil liberties. The show, presented by Ben & Jerry’s, Gabriela Hearst and YOLA Mezcal, is part of a broader ACLU initiative to unite leaders across music, fashion, film, comedy and other creative industries to spotlight the critical civil liberties issues defining today’s landscape.
“We’re living through an era of unprecedented attacks on our rights, from attacks on immigrants’ rights, speech, racial justice and LGBTQ communities,” said Nahal Zamani, ACLU’s director of state campaigns, in a statement to Billboard. “All of our voices are crucial right now. What’s more, creative voices have a unique ability to inform new audiences about these urgent issues, inspire people to get involved, and drive social change — which we need now more than ever.”
Arranged and directed by Rob Moose and Cody Fitzgerald, performers took the stage for one or two songs each, often pausing to voice their support for the ACLU and urge young people to get involved.
One standout moment came courtesy of artist Dread Scott, who, before introducing Mon Rovîa, spoke about his seminal 1989 work What is the Proper Way to Display a U.S. Flag. The piece sparked political controversy at the time for inviting viewers to step on the American flag. When Scott later burned the flag on the steps of the U.S. Capital in protest of laws restricting flag desecration, he was arrested — but the Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of him and the other protestors, striking down federal flag-desecration laws as unconstitutional. Scott credited the ACLU for helping protect his work and artistic freedom.
“I tell people I make revolutionary art to propel history forward,” he said on stage. “I’m happy to be here supporting the ACLU. They do amazing work, and they have advised and represented me and my art on numerous occasions. They’ve saved my a– and enabled my art to continue to reach its audience.”
In another statement to Billboard, Esha Bhandari, director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, emphasized the longstanding relationship between artists and the civil liberties movement.
“While the ACLU is working in the courts, in legislatures and on the streets, artists are helping shift narratives, broaden understanding, and move people from awareness to sustained action,” she said. “This concert is the latest event in our Creatives for Freedom campaign and we hope to continue building momentum towards change and inspiring more people to join in working for a more equitable and free future.”
Sheryl Crow opened her headlining set performing “Redemption Day,” an anti-war song she wrote in 1996 after a USO trip to Bosnia with Hillary Clinton. She shared onstage that Johnny Cash approached her after he heard the tune in 2003 and later recorded a version of it himself.
“[He] called me and said, ‘I want to know what every single line means,’ so that he could stand behind what he was singing,” Crow told the audience. “He stood against the Vietnam War, he stood up for Native American rights — which was very unpopular at the time. These are the kind of leaders and artists that we want to emulate: people who speak up and want to leave the campground nicer than they found it.”
For the finale, Crow invited the entire lineup back to the stage for a joyous singalong of her 1996 hit “If It Makes You Happy.” With Crow leading the verses, the other artists wrapped their arms around each other, swaying and singing.
“I just want you guys to know that we artists don’t take it lightly that our First Amendment is under attack,” Crow said as the night wrapped. “But these artists right here I have great hope and faith in. They lift me up, they make me want to be a better songwriter and they make me want to be a better person.”
Here’s a look at the full setlist, which was followed by a DJ set from Mark Ronson:
Joy Oladokun“I’d Miss the Birds”“If You Got a Problem”
Taylor Meier“We Will Dance Again”
Mon Rovîa“Crooked the Road”“Heavy Foot”
Andrew Wyatt“Live Free and Be Gone”
Maggie Rogers“Alaska”“Don’t Forget Me”
St. Vincent“…At the Holiday Party”“New York”
Sheryl Crow“Redemption Day”“Strong Enough”“If It Makes You Happy”
Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” rules the Billboard Hot 100 for a seventh week, having led in each of its weeks on the chart so far.
Of Swift’s 13 career Hot 100 No. 1s, “The Fate of Ophelia” is her third to have ruled for at least seven weeks. It trails only “Anti-Hero” (eight, beginning Nov. 5, 2022) and ties “Blank Space” (seven, Nov. 29, 2014).
Meanwhile, “The Fate of Ophelia” is the first song to spend its first seven weeks on the Hot 100 at No. 1 since BTS’ “Butter” in June-July 2021. No song has led the chart longer consecutively from its debut since Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” was No. 1 in its first eight weeks in January-March 2021.
Elsewhere in the Hot 100’s top 10, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” returns to the region, making a three-place festive flight to No. 8. The modern classic, from 1994, has led for 18 total weeks dating to its first in 2019.
Check out the full rundown of this week’s Hot 100 top 10 below.
The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data, the lattermost metric reflecting purchases of physical singles and digital tracks from full-service digital music retailers; digital singles sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are excluded from chart calculations. All charts (dated Nov. 29, 2025) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Nov. 25. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram. Plus, for all chart rules and explanations, click here.
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
‘Ophelia’ Streams, Airplay & Sales
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SEVENTEEN just brought the thunder to public radio, appearing on NPR’s beloved Tiny Desk concert series and becoming the first-ever K-pop act to perform in the iconic office space.
The boy band’s JOSHUA, MINGYU, SEUNGKWAN, VERNON and DINO looked like they were having the times of their lives tucked in together behind the famous desk, littered with mementos from past A-list guests in a video of their mini show posted Monday (Nov. 24). The group performed a handful of hits from its discography for the audience crowded inside the NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., including “Darl+ing,” “_WORLD,” “SOS,” “Rock With You,” “CLAP” and “HOT.”
After opening number “Super,” VERNON vocalized what all of his bandmates appeared to be thinking. “We did not expect this kind of response,” he shared, looking blown away by the loud cheers they were met with. “You guys are awesome, thank you so much.”
When one fan yelled, “VERNON, you’re my bias!” he reciprocated with a sweet hand heart.
At another point in the video, the guys asked for people to call out with their favorite SEVENTEEN songs. When one person shouted out “HBD,” the five performers sang an off-the-cuff, a cappella rendition of the 2025 track.
“We’re having so much fun because of you guys,” VERNON added. “We were honestly super nervous to perform in such a setting. So thank you for making us feel so comfortable. You really boosted our confidence.”
When it came time to close out with “VERY NICE,” they encouraged everyone watching to dance, jump, and repeat “Aju nice” whenever the song called for it.
SEVENTEEN’s time behind the desk comes as the band — which is also comprised of members S.COUPS, JEONGHAN, JUN, HOSHI, WONWOO, WOOZI, THE 8 and DK — is touring in support of 2025 album Happy Burstday, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. On Saturday (Nov. 29), the group’s performance at the Ventelin Dome Nagoya in Japan will be livestreamed in theaters worldwide to celebrate the band’s 10-year anniversary.
Watch SEVENTEEN’s full Tiny Desk performance above.
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The KPop Demon Hunters craze is still going strong — and books inspired by the film have now hit shelves.
In the spirit of family, fun, creativity and, of course, K-pop, these books depict scenes from the beloved animated Netflix film, from HUNTR/X’s pre-show ramen sessions to action poses struck by the Saja Boys. Each of our picks can be shopped right now on either Amazon or Etsy.
We’ve included a few picks, from coloring pages to triva books, giving kids fun and interactive ways to express themselves and their love of the Netflix animated film. We’ve even included an official story book titled For the Fans! by A Little Golden Book retailing for just $3.80. The entry recounts some of our favorite moments from the film, all drawn out in cute chibi fashions.
For the Fans! (KPop Demon Hunters): Official Storybook
$3.80
$6.99
46% off
An offical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ story book.
All three options we’ve linked are super affordable at less than $15, and make great gifts or stocking stuffers for the holiday season. For children, these books are a great way to occupy their time, allowing them to funnel their creative energy into a productive and fulfilling activity. For adults, the coloring books are a great way to manage stress — it’s a low-pressure activity that engages, leaving no room for overthinking.
For those of you who might not be familiar with KPop Demon Hunters, the Netflix animated film dropped on the streaming platform back in June, capitalizing on the popularity of K-pop. The film follows fictional world-renowned K-pop girl group called HUNTR/X consisting of members Rumi, Mira and Zoey. The group sings and performs while secretly slaying demons when not on stage.
The punchy and interactive visuals and musical score, composed by Marcelo Zarvos, make for a thrilling ride from start to finish. You’ve also got appearances from real-life K-pop acts throughout the film: K-pop girl group TWICE perform the version of “Takedown” that appears during the credits. Andrew Choi, the singing voice of Saja Boys’ Jinu, is currently an active solo artist under SM Entertainment. Kevin Woo from the K-pop boy band U-KISS provided the singing voice for Saja Boys’ Mystery Saja.
‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Coloring Book
A holiday-themed coloring book from the popular Netflix movie.
The Unofficial ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Trivia Book
An unofficial ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ triva book.
‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Chibi Coloring Book
A coloring book based on the hit Netflix film.
‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Chibi Coloring Book
A chibi K-pop coloring book.
A majority of these, save for the A Little Golden Book entry, are all fan-made books of course, and not an official release from Netflix or the movie, but if you’re looking for a fun and interactive way to occupy your time that isn’t just scrolling on your phone, these books should do the trick.
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Every two weeks, users on the AI music platform Suno create as much music as what is currently available on Spotify, according to Suno investor presentation materials obtained by Billboard. Those users are primarily male, aged 25-34, and spend an average of 20 minutes creating the some 7 million songs produced on the platform daily, according to the documents and additional sources.
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Suno sees a future where, as it expands its offerings, creators and listeners will not need to leave the app to create, stream or share their music socially. The goal is listed as creating “high-value, high-intent music discovery” and “artist-fan interaction.”
Now, Suno might have the money to fulfill that ambitious vision. Suno announced last week that it had raised $250 million in a C fundraise, led by Menlo Ventures, with additional investors including NVIDIA’s venture capital arm NVentures and Hallwood Media. The round brings Suno’s valuation up to $2.45 billion.
“In just two years, we’ve seen millions of people make their ideas a reality through Suno, from first-time creators to top songwriters and producers integrating the tool into their daily workflows,” Suno CEO Mikey Shulman said in a statement about the company’s new influx of cash. “This funding allows us to keep expanding what’s possible, empowering more artists to experiment, collaborate and build on their creativity. We’re proud to be at the forefront of this historic moment for music.”
The investment materials, obtained by Billboard, provide more insight into the company’s aspirations for what Shulman calls the “future of music” which he is “seeing … take shape in real time.” In the materials, Suno claims that by 2028 the company will grow to $1 billion in revenue, and “this is before we consider monetizing consumption.” Eventually, the company says, the Suno of “tomorrow … will power the new, bigger music ecosystem and will be a $500 billion company.” Reps for Suno did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
According to the pitch deck, this funding round will be allocated to the following uses: 30% computing power, 20% mergers and acquisitions, 20% discovery, 20% marketing, 15% data and 5% partnerships. Already, the company has shown an interest in growing and expanding its offerings via acquisition, having purchased digital audio workstation WavTool in June 2025.
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Notably, compute power — the hardware, processors, memory, storage and energy that operate data centers — is the company’s biggest expense since Jan. 2024, which is a common situation for many AI companies. “Amid the AI boom, compute power is emerging as one of this decade’s most critical resources … there is an unquenchable need for more,” a McKinsey study said about the cost of compute in the age of AI.
OpenAI’s AI video and social platform, Sora, for example, especially struggles against high compute costs due to the complexities of generating video. According to an estimate by Forbes, Sora costs the company as much as $15 million per day to run. According to Suno’s financials, reviewed by Billboard, Suno has spent over $32 million on training its model since January 2024. That breaks down to $32 million spent on compute power and $2,000 spent on data costs — meaning the cost of content, like music, which it uses to train its model.
Suno is currently in the middle of a number of lawsuits concerning the data on which it trains its model. This includes two class action copyright infringement lawsuits, filed by indie musician groups; one lawsuit from Danish rights group Koda; and one from German collection society GEMA. Most significantly, however, is the copyright infringement lawsuit filed by the three major music companies, Sony, Universal and Warner, against Suno for $500 million, claiming widespread copyright infringement of their sound recordings “at an almost unimaginable scale” to train its model.
In recent months, there have been reports that Suno — and Udio, which was also sued in a near-identical lawsuit by the majors — has been in licensing and settlement talks with the majors. At least part of that reporting proved to be true: recently, Udio settled with both Universal and Warner and created a license structure for their recorded music and publishing interests. (Sony’s lawsuit against the company is still ongoing). Now, to work with the music companies, Udio is pivoting its service to become more of a fan engagement platform where users can play with participating songs in a “walled garden,” meaning users cannot download and post the creations on streaming services.
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Suno’s pitch deck does not say anything about its lawsuits with copyright holders. It also does not discuss any plan for licensing musical content.
Suno sold investors on its vision to create a service where you can “create, listen and inspire” on the platform, “turn[ing] music from passive consumption into an active participatory culture.” To expand this vision, Suno plans to roll out more products like a voice beautification filter and a social media service. It also touts that its work has cultural power outside of consumption on its own service, including a photo of cover art from viral AI band The Velvet Sundown next to the text, “Suno songs go viral off platform.”
The deck shows an image of a user playing guitar in a TikTok-like vertical social media video. In the top right corner, above typical social media buttons (“Like” “comment” and share”) is a button that says “Create Hook,” implying that users will connect through iterating and remixing each other’s creations in a video, social-forward way.
The company’s vision for the future, however, hinges on customer acquisition and reducing the number of users who leave the service after joining. According to the deck, Suno says it has 1 million subscribers already, up 300% year over year, and it currently says approximately 25% of subscribers remain after 30 days. On a weekly basis, Suno says it has 78% retention for subscribers and 39% weekly retention for all users.
Suno’s investment materials say that one positive indicator is that the company is “reactivating” an increasing number of users, meaning these users came back after one month. As of July 2025, Suno claims 350,000 reactivated users per week. The company attributes this to things like new features, increased awareness and improvements in their model.
Additional reporting by Elizabeth Dilts Marshall.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
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Cynthia Erivo is fresh off her run as Elphaba in the blockbuster hit that was the Wicked films, and she’s ready to talk about it.
It’s clear to see that the duology was a major hit, especially the music. The first Wicked film soundtrack made history by debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, the highest opening for a stage-to-screen adaptation. It also topped our Top Album Sales, Soundtracks and Vinyl Albums charts simultaneously. Seven songs from the soundtrack topped the Billboard Hot 100, including Erivo’s rendition of “Defying Gravity,” being the highest charting at No. 44.
Following her stellar performance as the Wicked Witch of the West, she’s giving a peek at her process for prepping for the film duology her new book, Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They’re Too Much. The book is currently a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon, with a hardcover version of the book currently available for $20.28. You can also get a Kindle version for $14.99.
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‘Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They’re Too Much’
$20.28
$28.99
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A book by Cynthia Erivo.
While the book’s primary draw is her time on Wicked, it also divulges Erivo’s development as an actress and human, and the practices she’s learned over the years of performing. In the chapter titled “Train Like a Boxer,” Erivo talks about her prep for the role of Elphaba, a tall order given she’s followed in the footsteps of those who played the coveted role on Broadway, including Idina Menzel, who originated the roll, along with Eden Espinosa, Jackie Burns and Jessica Vosk, among others.
In the book, Erivo writes, “I had three weeks to prepare. A far cry from the two days I had for The Color Purple. Things change. I got the music and all the scenes and started working on them like I was in training. As if I were a boxer.” Erivo is no stranger to Broadway, having made her debut as Celie in the 2015 revival of The Color Purple, a role for which she earned a Tony Award. “As part of my training, I ran while singing the Wicked songs, back and forth, singing just to get them fully into my body. I wanted the music and dialogue to all be so deeply embedded inside me that when I got to the audition, I wouldn’t be thinking about lyrics, or the melody, or lines. All that would just be a part of my DNA,” Erivo recalled.
If you or a loved one is a fan of Wicked or Erivo’s work, this book is a must-read and makes a great gift ahead of the holiday season.
Did you know that Muni Long wrote these bangers?
11/24/2025
